In my previous two messages, I’ve shared the history of how Wisconsin Christian News came to be. Because we’re now praising the Lord for the start of our 27th year of publishing, I wanted to share with you what this journey has been like.
I’d gotten our first edition of the newspaper printed in April of 2000. But my idea of the ministry being immediately blessed of God quickly evaporated, along with all the “encouragement” I’d previously received from pastors and other ministry leaders. In theory, they were all behind the idea. But now that I’d actually done what I said I was going to do, few could be bothered with it.
I managed to get some minimal support from a few ministries in the form of small display ads in the paper. Barely enough to cover the expenses of printing and distribution. As I mentioned previously, it proved nearly impossible to get our newspaper distributed in churches. But with few exceptions, none would accept it, for one reason or another.
As we began doing interviews and feature stories on various Wisconsin-based ministries, some of those ministries stepped up and supported us with ad revenue. I continued to follow the popular format of Christian newspapers from other states — a lot of Bible teaching, inspirational stories, interviews with pastors and ministry leaders, along with information on upcoming Christian festivals, concerts, and events. We hadn’t yet started publishing the vital news articles and commentaries that brought about the idea of starting the newspaper in the first place.
Our distribution was mainly in grocery stores, though I continued to try to get the paper into churches. After all, the intent at the time was to help pastors and churches get the word out about their ministries and church-goers in their daily walk with the Lord. I also wanted to help other ministries raise awareness of their efforts. But it was a tremendous daily struggle. I faced rejection at every turn, from the very people who should have supported my efforts the most. Most days, we were dead-flat-broke. I couldn’t even afford a tank of gas, and meals for our family were purchased — literally — one day at a time.
I made as many contacts with ministries, churches, and Christian-owned businesses as possible. Very few had any interest, and the newspaper — and our family — was quite honestly, penniless. Then one day, I had two appointments. These were with people who had called me regarding advertising, so I was hopeful that we’d be receiving some support and would be able to survive for another month’s publication.
The first appointment was with a ministry an hour and a half away. They’d inquired about taking out a full-page ad for a year (and pay for it all in advance), which would have been an enormous help in the midst of our dire circumstances. So I went with high hopes. When I arrived and entered the building, I was greeted by the minister’s assistant. He gave me the ground rules: I must remove my shoes in the minister’s presence and must not attempt to shake hands with the minister, or I’d cause the minister to become “defiled.”
I’d never experienced such a thing before. Even Jesus Himself touched the “unclean,” and I certainly didn’t think I was going to “defile” anyone. But I complied. It turned out that the “minister” was a woman who insisted she received direct communications from God and wanted me to publish these messages in our newspaper. I could not change or edit a single word, must publish them exactly as given to me… and then she offered to show me how she communicates and gets her messages from the Lord. I won’t go into all that here, but suffice to say, I declined to accept her offer.
She was incredulous and couldn’t believe I was telling her “no.” She already had a large check made out to me, which would have covered the expenses of the newspaper for a good six months. But I was not about to endorse her so-called “prophetic words,” with no ability to edit or refuse publication of anything she wrote down. Especially since whatever “god” she was channeling turned out to be such a bad speller! As I left, I realized I had just passed a test from God Almighty, having turned down the biggest check I’d seen in years, leaving the place still penniless, but with my integrity and faithfulness to God intact.
My next appointment that day was with the pastor of a very small church. But he was also a business owner. I wasn’t expecting much to come of it. But he loved Wisconsin Christian News and the potential he saw in it, and he handed me a check that was not only larger than the one I’d just turned down that morning, but, in fact, exactly double the amount of that first check.
From that point on, things began to get a little better each day. I’d learned to stay faithful to God’s call and the Holy Spirit, and to depend on the Lord for His provision, even if it meant living in poverty, if that’s what God wanted for me. It was very gradual, but at one point, about a dozen churches were supporting us, although in very small amounts, and it was something. Soon, other ministries, Christian camps, Christian music ministries, pro-life ministries, and others joined us. We were also allowed to distribute the paper at about a dozen churches in the state, but I was discouraged that very few church-goers ever picked them up, even though they were free.
About two years after starting publishing, I put together our first Ministry Expo. This was an opportunity for Christian ministries of all kinds to set up a display booth and meet the public, raise support and find new volunteers for their work. Our first event was a great success, with more than fifty exhibits. After three annual events, I wanted to reach the public more — not just church-goers — so I began holding our Ministry Expos at shopping malls. There, we were able to reach not just Christians, but people of all kinds, as they were shopping in the mall.
We incorporated musical performances by Christian groups, children’s and family activities into these events. The Ministry Expos were always well received, at least at first, though we didn’t have a whole lot of Christians attending. Most of those who came were just at the mall to shop, and were drawn in by our exhibits and activities.
Meanwhile, the content of our newspaper gradually began to change. I began to get back to the original vision God had given me for this ministry: to address the vitally important, “difficult” topics that most pastors would never speak of in church. We exposed the abortion industry, government corruption, the homosexual agenda, the leftist indoctrination of children in public schools, an emphasis on righteous living, the threat of Islam, spiritual warfare, false religions, the great falling away and apostasy in the churches.
Now, we were too controversial, too “harsh” and too “judgmental” for the churches, which had long since gone “seeker-friendly.” We were also too controversial and harsh for many of the ministries that had previously supported us, and which we had supported and worked to help for so many years. Our advertising revenue, which had become just barely enough for survival, began to dry up. Once again, I was at a crossroads. I could return to the “safety” of non-offensive topics, and perhaps win back some support from those who’d abandoned us, or I could press on in what I knew was most needed, and what God had called me to in the first place.
I chose the latter. Soon, there were virtually no pastors willing to advertise with us or allow the newspaper in their buildings. And I believe the Holy Spirit directed me to give up on the churches and focus our distribution much more heavily on the general public. Previously, we’d been in just a few select areas of Wisconsin. Now, we sought out distribution points wherever large groups of people would be. Grocery stores, truck stops, hotels, shopping malls, and even wayside rest stops along the freeway.
Soon, people in neighboring states began finding Wisconsin Christian News and asked to distribute the paper in their states: Michigan, Minnesota, Illinois and Iowa. With most Wisconsin-based ministries having dropped us because we were too “controversial,” we brought on well-known Christian writers who had a national audience.
It was about 2012 when Vic Eliason, the founder of the VCY America radio network — the same network that originally inspired the idea of a newspaper within me — asked me to do a twice-weekly radio commentary, based on my articles in Wisconsin Christian News. And as my broadcasts began to air, we were now reaching people nationwide, instead of just select areas of Wisconsin and a few in neighboring states.
Our Ministry Expos — which at one time had over a hundred ministries represented — had now dwindled to just a handful of ministries that stuck with us. So instead of focusing on music, children’s activities and “family fun,” we changed from an annual Expo to an annual Conference, where people could hear from some of the best Christian speakers in North America. The Conferences were much more impactful, filled with genuine substance and reverence for our Lord and Savior.
But in the midst of this, financially, Wisconsin Christian News was still barely surviving, one day at a time. Some years ago, I came to understand that if we were to continue, the paper would need to be reader-supported. Today, while we still have advertising in the newspaper, it comes nowhere near the costs we have each month to produce it, providing thousands of copies to the public for free. So today, we’re nearly 100% funded by donations from individuals. If not for that support, we would no longer exist.
When we began, there were more than 200 Christian newspapers throughout North America. Today, there are fewer than a dozen. Our distribution is mainly on news racks in busy public places, for free pickup. We also provide complimentary subscriptions to jail inmates, and we have subscribers in all fifty states. My radio commentaries still air twice weekly, and in 2019, we began an interactive TV talk show, WCN TV, which you can find at WCNTV.net
Today, as I reflect on 27 years of full-time ministry with Wisconsin Christian News, I praise the Lord for all He’s taught me. Those years of despair — wandering in the wilderness — I now understand, were a time of character-cleansing, learning to rely on God’s provision alone, and staying true to our mission of reaching the lost and encouraging the remnant. Many can quote Roman 8:28, but by God’s grace, He’s let me understand it first-hand — by living it. And now I know that “…all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to HIS purpose.”
